Yankees GM Explains Why He Can’t Compete With Dodgers for Japanese Free Agents
February 14, 2025
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J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.
Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The New York Yankees watched the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate the 2024 World Series championship on their own field last October. Then they watched the Dodgers beat them to signing the most widely sought-after pitcher on the free agent market: Roki Sasaki.
More news: Dodgers Name Japanese-Born Pitcher Opening Day Starter to Face Cubs in Tokyo
It was the second consecutive offseason in which the Dodgers signed a coveted free agent pitcher from Japan. In Dec. 2023, the Dodgers signed right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million free agent contract.
The Yankees were interested in signing Yamamoto and Sasaki as well. Friday, general manager Brian Cashman was asked to reflect on the Dodgers’ ability to lure Sasaki and Yamamoto from the franchise that once employed Masahiro Tanaka, Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki, among other top Japanese players of their generation.
Brian Cashman on the #Yankees failing to land recent Japanese free agents:
“It’s not about scouting it. We’re scouting it properly. It’s about trying to find a way to make us the best destination spot for them compared to others. The #Dodgers have done a great job of somehow…
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 14, 2025
“It’s not about scouting it,” Cashman told reporters, including Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “We’re scouting it properly. It’s about trying to find a way to make us the best destination spot for them compared to others. The #Dodgers have done a great job of somehow securing those players and making that a destination spot. They obviously had a great recruiter in Shohei Ohtani. That creates a homefield advantage probably because of his relationships over there. They’ve done a very great job cultivating the Japanese market.”
Shohei Ohtani #17 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on from the dugout against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field on April 06, 2024 in Chicago. Shohei Ohtani #17 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on from the dugout against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field on April 06, 2024 in Chicago. Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in Dec. 2023. Yamamoto finalized his contract with Los Angeles weeks later, recruited in part by Ohtani, among others.
The Dodgers needed five games to beat the Yankees in the 2024 World Series to secure their eighth championship. Yamamoto and Ohtani, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, each played key roles during the Dodgers’ postseason run.
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